Punched-card-controlled mechanism.



41. E. WRIGHT.

PUNCHED CARD CONTROLLED MECHANISM.

' APPLICATION FILE D APILZS. 1917 1,299,090; Patented Apr. 1,1919.

' ETS-SHEET I.

J. E. WRIGHT. v PUNCHED CARD CONTROLLED MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 25. 1917. I 1 1,299,090. Patented Apr. 1,1919.

. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- J. E.,WRIGHT.

PUNCHED C ARD'CONTROLLED MECHANISM.

APPLlCATlON HLED APR. 25.19I7. 1,299,090, Patented Apr. 1,1919.

4 SHEET$-SHEEI 3.

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} J. E. WRIGHT. PUNCHED CARD CONTROLLED MECHANISM.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919..

' APPLICATION FILED mus. 19v:

:IIIIIIIIII STATES PATENT OFFICE."

t-'onn nnwann WRIGHT, or, new YORK, 11. 'Y.

run'c znn cm-con rnomnn mncnmsm.

I To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J our; E. WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Punched Card Controlled Iechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention upon which the present application for Letters Patent .is based, pertains to computing systems and is embodied in new and improved means for controlling by means of punched cards or tape, apparatus designedfor recordmg or reproducing the data corresponding to the character or tabulations and computations of the transactionshighly important, but their extent is not such as to justify the use of the cumbersome and expensive machines ordinarily used for the purpose, each counter or department be provided with a simple formof perforator by means of which cards-or a tape may be readily perforated by a salesman to indicate the amount of each sale. ing that this record has been made on a continuous length of tape, the latter is periodically transferred to the'cashiers deartment, where it is run through a reproducer which is operated b suitable mechanismaccording to the position of the holes to record the items and totals of the amounts,

in cards, thesecards will have other per" forationspunched therein either in advance of or at the time of sales which indi' Te the department where the sales were made their date or other necessary information, and

these cards may be kept as permanent rec- Speclfication of Letters Patent.

vords or their indications may be totaled by the reproducer. If they are preservedand it becomes necessar at any time orefor any purposeto select mm a number of them those which contain the records for a certain date or for a certain department, they are run through a selector, which, 0 erated according -to the perforations in in ividual cards, selects and distributes them by a single operation so that all the cards of a certain kind or class may be immediately obtained.

The system may invo'lvenumerous other steps, the tapes or cards may be punched to afford records of other facts or transactions,

and the reproducer may make other and more elaborate records, as will be well understood by those using the system or skilled in the art to which it pertains, but for the purpose of the present case the above outnc will serve'to show the nature and general purpose of thesubject.

From the above it is manifest that the system in its entirety involves virtually the Patented Apr. 1, 1919. Application filed April 25, 1917. Serial No. 184,5.

combination or conjoint use of three separate instrumentalities.

First. A perforating machine adapted to' selectively punch either cards or' tape.

Second. A selecting mechanism in which the operations of a card holder and chute are so controlled as-to separate out of a massthe cards of a certain class or character from such as are not wanted, and

Third. A reproducer controlled by a perforated card or-tape, which actuates suitable mechanism, such as the keys of an adding machine, causing it to reproduce in numerals or letters the totals of any record which corresponds to the holes punched, or other data according to the nature and requirements of the case.

In the present case I have shown, 'de

scribed and shall claim that instrum'entality referred to above as the perfor'ator, as the others will-form'the subjects of se arate' applications: The improvements w ich characterize this instrument are to a large extent embodied in the construction offit's or elements, and no description-ther will be required for an understanding of their no. turebeyo'nd that contained in the detailal explanation with its reference'vto the draw ings which is given b l ion I the handling of cards or tape.

I spring actuated punches H. When, therefore, slides G are shifted, the full portlon In the accompanying drawings, F igure 1 is a horizontal sectional plan of the perforating mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the feed mechanism for use in the same. N Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 1. 1i ig. 4 is a sectional view of the same on 3--3 of Fig. 3.

113. a part sectional view of the apparatus gs viewed from the left. Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional views'of modifications of the punching mechanism.

Figs. 8 and 9 are views of those-portions of forward the horizontal bars D each carrying one or more projections. d.

These rojections-engage cross-bars E in frames pivoted at e and having at the right in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 side bars F- lying in the path of pins 7' on slide bars G and adaptedto move said'bars longitudinally when said side bars are moved by the depression of the keys.

A depressed key may engage one or more cross bars D and thereby adjust one or more of the slides G, these parts constituting a selective series of permutation elements that determine which punches will be' operated by the movement or adjustment of the slides G. For this purpose there are shown four slides G adapted tobe so-adjusted, and a central slide the position of which is controlled by a hand lever-g, Fig. 5.

The'slides G have their forward ends pivoted to their main portions and at their'extreme ends have offsets or cut away portions which lie normally in front of the will be brought in line with said punches and a swinging movement imparted to the pivoted ends will force forward the punches.

This forward movement is imparted to the slides by an armature K of an electromagnet I the circuit of which is closed when any keyis depressed to substantially its full.

extent, so that a card or tape will be punched with a hole or holes corresponding in position to the operated key.

The armature K is fixed to a shaft P which carriea a frame R turning therewith, the outer side of the frame as shownin Figs. 1 and 5 lying over thepivoted cndso'f the slides G so that by the operation of the armature magnet such ends of the slides are forced toward the punches H.

in a suitable Under the bank of keys is a bar J formmg p'art of a frame secured to a'shaft i whichjis turned by thedepression of akey against the force of a spring to swing a contact it into engagement-witha conduct- -ing stop and thus'closc the circuit of the magnet I at the proper time to punches.

The cards or the tape to be punched passes through a guide or chute K in which operate the it is-engagcd bywheels L, L, the 'former on the same shaft as a ratchet wheel M en-' gaged and adapted to be moved step by step by a pawl m operated on the back stroke of the armature of magnet I by means of an arm Z carrying said pawl. Whenever a key lever, therefore, is depressed, the card or.

tapeis fed forward one space.

The arm I is fixed to the shaft carried and oscillated" by the armature K and partakes of the same'movement as said armature;

hence, when the armatureis attracted and released, the arm Z moves and operates the pawl for moving the ratchet wheel one tooth.

When cards are punched by this'device the hand lever g is turned to the position in which it maintains its slide bar G raised,

and hence is not operative to force forward theeentral punch. If, on the other hand, a tape is to be perforated the lever g is turned to render its corresponding punch operative, and by this means a row of equally spaced perforations is punched in the tape which are subsequently utilized in the reproducing machine to feed the tape forward by pins on a feed wheel.

The slot K through which the cards or tapes pass is provided with adjustable sides N, Figs. 6 and 7 which are enga ed by adjusting screws ,0 so as to be capab e of movement to regulate the width of the slot. Fig.

:6, for example, shows the slot adj sted for tape, while in Fig. 7 .the .wider a justment shownis for a card, which is shown in'Fi'g. 8 as passin through the machine. What I c aim is: v a 1. In a punching'dev'ice of the kind de- -scribed,' the combination with a series 'of keys and bars connected therewith and depression thereof, of a series of cross-bars stituti'ng a frame for the support of the cross bars,'and punch operating mechanism LOO - adapted to be moved longitudinally by the a controller] by the engagement therewith of I and their connected bars. g

2. In a punching mechanism of thekind those levers which are moved by the keys I described, the combination with a series of keys and bars adapted to be,-movcd longitudinally by the depression thereof, of a series of cross-bars or /or more of which are engaged by lugs or stops on said bars,' pivwith parts lymg in t and punches adapted to be operated-by the dted 1a s upporl:in%l said cross-hnrs,sli 1es e pathof said levers sh'd'es engaged by the moved lever.

In a punching mechanism of the kind described, the'combination with a series of keys and bars adapted tobe 'moved longitm dinally by the depression thereof, of a series of crossbars one or more of which are engaged by lugs or stops on said bar s pivoted leverssupporfiing said rods, :1 scenes of sliding bars vwmn; Woted ends adapted to' be shifted longitufinally by the movement of said pivoted levezfs, a, "series 'of punches in the planes of the paths of movement Of the sliding bars, and'an electro magnet and armature engaging the pivoted ends of the slide bars and operating the punches by such bars as are moved. with relation to the punches.

7 J0 N EDWARD 20- In testimon whereof I afiixm signature. 

